Tesla hoses fire fears

Six months after a Model S spectacularly barbequed itself on a motorway in Washington State after hitting an object that punctured its lithium-ion battery pack, Tesla has announced a fix for the ground-breaking electric luxury sedan that is just weeks away from its Australian release.

“Starting with vehicle bodies manufactured as of March 6, all cars have been outfitted with a triple underbody shield. Tesla service will also retrofit the shields, free of charge, to existing cars upon request or as part of a normally scheduled service,” announced Tesla CEO Elon Musk via his blog late last week.

There are approximately 20,000 Model S sedans on the road today in North America, Europe and China and first Australia are expected to take place by mid-year (2014).

At the time of the fire, Musk was extremely outspoken and highly defensive of the Model S and the car’s safety systems. He more or less described the chances of the fire happening again in lottery odds.

Then a second Model S combusted in Mexico after it impacted a concrete curb at speeds above 100 km/h, rebounded off a wall and hit a tree. Tesla reacted proactively and aggressively to repair its corporate reputation and to avoid investigation by federal vehicle safety organisations.

A few months after the fires, Tesla released a suspension software update to reset the Model S computer-controlled suspension to a higher setting during highway cruising. Increasing ground clearance allows the car to roll over some objects rather than impact them. The retro-fit shield now adds significant impact protection.

According to Tesla, the retro-fit shield overlays the 6.35mm aluminium plating already enclosing the lithium-ion battery pack. The retro-fit shield incorporates three components. The first is a rounded, hollow aluminium bar designed to deflect objects or absorb the impact and force the object to pike upward forward of the battery pack and pierce the plastic aeroshield and bootliner.

The second is a titanium plate designed to protect front-mounted sensitive underbody components from damage and also aids in neutralising the impact of road debris.

The third component of the retro-fit shield is a shallow-angle, solid aluminium extrusion which absorbs, deflects and finally causes the Model S to ramp up and over the object.

In his blog posting, Musk continued to defend the Model S.

“It is important to note that there have been no fire injuries (or serious, permanent injuries of any kind) in a Tesla at all.”

In fact, the Model S in crash testing has achieved praise for its occupant-protection performance.

Meantime in the US last week, Tesla and New York car dealer lobby groups reached an agreement that allows the upstart electric car maker to keep its five company-owned stores in the state, after the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association sued Tesla in 2012, claiming its store licenses had been granted illegally.

The New York agreement comes less than two weeks after New Jersey banned Tesla from selling cars directly to consumers at its two stores in that state. Tesla continues to battle many US states for the right to sell its cars directly to consumers, including Ohio, Maryland and Texas.

Dealers claim Tesla’s sales model would establish a precedent that could lead to other car makers changing the way independent franchisees have sold and serviced vehicles for almost a century. Some believe that if Tesla succeeds in cutting out dealers, car-makers from China and elsewhere could sell directly to consumers via their own retail outlets or even online.

Tesla will also sidestep the traditional national dealer network in Australia, where it already has factory-direct representation in Sydney and will establish a presence in Melbourne by May.

motoring.com.au understands the first Model S demonstrators will arrive Down Under by mid-April, before the large plug-in sedan receives Australian Design Rule certification.

Pricing announcements will first be made to Australian deposit holders direct from Tesla. Later (approximately two weeks say company insiders), public announcements will be made via Tesla website. The first local customer test drives are expected to take place in May.

Exact delivery dates for the first Aussie Model S units have not been confirmed.

Demand for the Model S from left-hand drive markets including the US and Europe has delayed its Australian release, which had been due take place in the third quarter of last year.

Tesla’s third model, the Model X is due in 2015, followed by a smaller sedan in 2016.